GME "Hot Topics"

Introducing...Your new Medical Library portal!

2011-06-30T12:42:00.001-05:00

http://RegionsMedicalLibrary.HealthPartners.com

This site is replacing our Intranet (ERIC) site and is available in the network or through Citrix. Please update your bookmarks. It will also be available on the Links page on Epic.

The librarians hope you enjoy the new easy-to-use format. We eliminated “clicks” where we could. We are excited to have more interactivity with our patrons and the ability to update the site to best fit your needs. New features, such as research management, mobile resources, and specialty pages help illustrate the depth of library services. We invite you to explore the new site and contact us with any questions or comments.

Thank you.
Your librarians,

Mary Wittenbreer
Jennifer Feeken
Jennifer Neville

Do you have a great idea for a Smartphone App??

2011-06-08T14:06:00.000-05:00

The American Medical Association (AMA) is asking U.S.-licensed physicians, residents/fellows and medical students for their ideas for medical apps. These App Ideas should be designed for use by physicians, residents/fellows and/or medical students in their daily careers.

Go to the AMA website for more details: AMA App Challenge Info
The Challenge submission deadline is 11:59:59 p.m. ET on June 30, 2011.

Annual Laboratory Critical Values List Update

2011-05-04T10:48:00.001-05:00

Two new critical values have been approved by the Laboratories at Regions Hospital, HealthPartners Clinics, Westfields Hospital and Hudson Hospital, in collaboration with patient care committees. The additions, effective Tuesday, May 3rd, 2011, include:

1) Lactate, serum: ≥4.0 mmol/L
2) Fibrinogen: <100 mg/dL
The full list of critical values can be accessed here. (link only works if logged on to the HealthPartners intranet) If you have any questions, please contact Doug Olson, M.D. (651-254-9618) or Kalen Olson, Ph.D. (651-254-9650).

2011 Core Competencies Conference Info

2011-05-03T13:32:00.000-05:00

Connecting with the Communities We Serve

Date: May 19, 2011

Location: Neighborhood House @ Wellstone Center, 179 Robie Street East, Saint Paul, MN 55107

Sponsors: Center for Undergraduate and Graduate Clinical Education, HealthPartners Institute for Medical Education

Preliminary Program – Thursday, May 19, 2011

7:00 Registration with Continental Breakfast
7:30 Welcome and Review of Today’s Program – Carl Patow, MD
7:45 Panel Discussion: “Serving Communities” – Bjorn Westgard, MD (moderator)
Panelists: Ka Her, BS, BA, Jane King, PsyD, LP, Amin Mohamed, MPH, Michelle Parra, PT, Damaris T. Pérez Ramírez, MA, LP, Akhmiri Sekhr-Ra, BA
9:15 Break
9:30 Tour of the Cities – David A. Lanegran, PhD and Laura Smith, PhD
12:15 Lunch (provided)/Discussion of Tour
1:30 Performance: Home Room, Presented by the zAmya Theater, Project of St. Stephens Human Services
3:00 Discussion: “Communities and Conversations” – Bjorn Westgard, MD, MA
3:30 Conference Evaluation – Marcella de la Torre, MA
3:35 Adjourn

Audience
This complimentary conference is offered to all HealthPartners/Regions Hospital residents, faculty, and administrative staff.
Goal
Address the patient care and system-based practice skills competencies requirement of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education.
Objectives
At the conclusion of this learning activity, participants will be able to:
• Indentify geographically where Regions Hospital patients reside.
• Relate to the communities we serve more compassionately by identifying barriers to care and generating possible solutions.
• Think systematically about daily practice and how to incorporate this knowledge.
• Improve patient care effectiveness by more closely relating to the communities we serve.
Accreditation
HealthPartners Institute for Medical Education is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
HealthPartners Institute for Medical Education designates this live activity for a maximum of 7.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Registration

Register to attend by Friday, May 6, 2011. If you have any special needs, please notify us when registering so that we can make arrangements to accommodate you.
Please email the following information to: Cecily.D.Spencer@HealthPartners.com or fax to 651-254-5044.

Name (First and Last)
Institution or Clinic Specialty
Address HOME or BUSINESS (Include Mailstop)
City State Zip
Telephone Fax
email
Please list any dietary restrictions

Mail to:
HealthPartners Institute for Medical Education
Graduate Medical Education; MS: 11501G
Regions Hospital
640 Jackson Street
St. Paul, MN 55101

For additional information contact:
651-254-2864

Faculty and Planning Committee*

*Felix Ankel, MD, Program Director, Emergency Medicine Residency, Regions Hospital
*Lori Barrett, Manager, Emergency Medicine Residency, Regions Hospital
*Jaclyn J. Bohm, DPM, G3, Foot & Ankle Surgery Resident, Regions Hospital
*Debra Bryan, MEd, Program Manager, Interactive Learning, HealthPartners Institute for Medical Education
*Eugenia Canaan, MALS, Director, Graduate Medical Education, HealthPartners Institute for Medical Education at Regions Hospital
*Katharine Davidson, MD, G3, Chief Resident, Emergency Medicine Residency, Regions Hospital
*Marcella de la Torre, MA, Manager, GME Performance Improvement, HealthPartners Institute for Medical Education
*Kelly Frisch, MD, Associate Program Director, University of Minnesota Internal Medicine Residency, Regions Hospital
*Pierre Gingerich-Boberg, MS, MA, Data Analyst/Spanish Interpreter, Regions Hospital
*Linda Grummer, MS, RN, Education Specialist, HealthPartners Institute for Medical Education
*Carson R. Harris, MD, Director, Toxicology Education & Clinical Services, Associate Program Director, Medical Toxicology Fellowship, Associate Professor, Dept of Emergency Medicine, Emergency Medicine Department, Regions Hospital
Ka Her, BS, BA, Community Health Assistant − ARIC Study, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota
Jane King, PsyD, LP, Director of Homeless Programs, South Metro Human Services
David A. Lanegran, PhD, John S Holl Professor of Geography, Macalester College
*Emily Marino-Vang, BSc, Medical Toxicology Fellowship Coordinator, Emergency Medicine Department, Regions Hospital
*Pei Mi, MD, G3, Chief Resident, Occupational Medicine Residency, HealthPartners St. Paul Clinic
Amin Mohamed, MPH, Supervisor, Interpreter Services, Riverside & Midway Clinics
*Jon O’Neal, MD, FACOEM, Residency Director, HealthPartners Occupational Medicine
*Carl Patow, MD, MPH, Executive Director, HealthPartners Institute for Medical Education
Michelle Parra, PT, Sister Kenny, Allina
Damaris T. Pérez Ramírez, MA, LP, Psychologist, Behavioral Health Department, HealthPartners, Inver Grove Heights Clinic
Akhmiri Sekhr-Ra, BA, The Cultural Wellness Center
*Cecily Spencer, Database Analyst, Graduate Medical Education, HealthPartners Institute for Medical Education
Laura Smith, PhD, Assistant Professor of Geography, Macalester College
*Bjorn Westgard, MD, MA, Emergency Medicine Physician, Regions Hospital
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Writing Contest for Physicians and Medical Students

2011-04-07T09:47:00.000-05:00

Minnesota Medicine is sponsoring its annual writing contest for physicians and medical students. The contest is a chance to share an insight, describe a moment, tell a story related to medical school, residency, and practice.

Winning entries may be published in Minnesota Medicine.The contest deadline is May 6, 2011
Click here to view on the MMA website

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Resident Alumni FICA Refund Status Update March 11, 2011:

2011-03-11T09:39:00.000-06:00

This is an update on the status of the medical resident FICA refund claims process. The filing of our medical resident FICA refund claims will be done shortly. In recent conversations with the IRS, we have learned that the IRS is backlogged in its processing of medical resident FICA refund claims, and have indicated that it could take up to a year or more before any refund is issued. During the pendency of the IRS’ processing of these claims, please provide us with your current contact information, including mailing address, email address(es), and telephone numbers, should it change between now and when the refunds are issued so that we will know where to send future communications and forward refund payments. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at 651-254-3725.

New Pharmacy Residency at Regions

2011-02-25T07:22:00.000-06:00

Did you know Regions is getting a new residency program? The pharmacy will be starting a one-year post-graduate residency program, with the first residents beginning in July. The program will include 2 residents each year. The pharmacy program will have required rotations in critical care and general medicine and possible electives in a number of other areas, including cardiology, infectious disease, neurology and many others. For more information about the program contact the residency program director, Lori Amborn.

Ethics Grand Rounds - March 8, 2011

2011-02-15T10:19:00.000-06:00

HealthPartners and Regions Hospital

Quarterly Ethics Grand Rounds

Open to all HealthPartners and Regions staff

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Auditorium @ Regions Hospital

Lunch provided

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Doctor, please won’t you assist me in dying?”

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

12:00 – 1:00 pm

Objectives:
• To understand current medical, legal and ethical end of life medical decision making
• To integrate above concepts to help patients and families make patient centered choices
• To utilize a framework for guiding surrogate health care decision makers

Accreditation

Physician
HealthPartners Institute for Medical Education is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
HealthPartners Institute for Medical Education designates this educational activity for a maximum of 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Nurses
This program has been designed to meet the Minnesota Board of Nursing's criteria for 1.2 contact hours of required continuing education. It is the responsibility of each nurse to determine whether a continuing education activity meets the criteria established by the Minnesota Board of Nursing.
Continuing Education certificates will be available for all other disciplines.

2011 Quarterly Ethics Grand Rounds, noon to 1pm in the Regions Hospital Auditorium
Date, Speaker, Topic
June 14, TBD, Deciding for Others: Models for Decision-Making
September 13, TBD, The Law and Bioethics
December 13, TBD, Bioethics and Culture
contacts:
Don Postema, Chair, HealthPartners Ethics Committee Postema@Comcast.net
Lisa Watson, Chair, HealthPartners/Regions Hospital Ethics Consult Team Lisa.A.Watson@HealthPartners.com

Memo

2010-10-11T15:15:00.002-05:00

To:Surgeons, Physician Assistants, Fellows and Residents
From: Dr. David Dries, Assistant Medical Director, Regions Hospital

Dana Langness, Senior Director of Surgical Services
Dr. Matthew Layman, Director of Perioperative Services

Date: October 11, 2010

Topic: History and Physical Documentation & the Importance of Communicating Accurate Expectations
History and Physical Documentation

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and The Joint Commission (TJC) require that a physician must complete a medical history and physical examination no more than 30 days before admission for elective surgery. Even though the medical history and physical may have been completed within 30 days before admission, due to changes in current regulatory guidelines, an update to the patient’s condition since the assessment (H & P) must be recorded at the time of admission.

CMS and TJC require each patient to be reassessed on the day of surgery, inpatient or outpatient, prior to surgery. The anesthesiologist will reassess each patient for any changes in the patient’s condition for those patients with an H & P completed within 30 days before the patient was admitted. This reassessment will serve as the update to the medical history and physical and will be documented in the patient’s medical record.
However, when the patient has a medical history and physical examination that was completed more than 30 days before the admission for surgery or is not signed and dated by the provider, the surgeon will need to do a new, complete medical history and physical before the patient can have surgery.

Note: Except in emergencies, a dictated medical history and physical examination that has not yet been transcribed and attached to the medical record, will not meet regulatory standards. In an emergency, when there is no time to record the complete history and physical examination, a progress or admission note describing a brief history and appropriate physical findings and the preoperative diagnosis must be recorded in the medical record before surgery.

We can no longer accept the practice of performing the medical history and physical examination the morning of surgery. Unless there are unusual extenuating circumstances (e.g. patient traveling great distances), the patient’s medical history and physical examination may only be done the morning of surgery in emergency situations.
Surgery will be delayed until the issue with the patient’s medical history and physical has been reconciled unless the surgery to be performed is due to an emergency.

The Importance of Communicating Accurate Expectations

It is important that we communicate accurate expectations to family members regarding a patient’s stay in PACU.
We continue to have families experience frustration due to several issues:
1. They were told by the surgeon an estimated PACU timeframe that was too short;
2. They were told the patient had been moved to PACU when they were really still in the OR;
3. Lengthy close times are not being considered when communicating wait times to families (e.g. the surgeon tells the family that the surgery is over and the patient will be in PACU for about one hour when in actuality they are still closing and, in some instances, the closing is lengthy)

Therefore, we ask that when communicating PACU times, you use our average of 60-90 minutes from entry into PACU. Also, when you give a time estimate, please take into consideration the time the patient will remain in the OR for closing before moving to PACU.

We appreciate your help with setting clear expectations for our families.

cc: Gretchen Leiterman
Ken Holmen, MD

Join the 2011 Core Competencies Conference Planning Committe

2010-08-27T12:10:00.000-05:00

Last year, we generated many wonderful ideas we would love to explore further and get input from program directors and residents. Based on the information we gathered last year, we would like to propose the theme " Connecting with the community we serve." The conference will be held, Thursday, May 19, 2011.

We typically meet a couple of evenings and dinner is provided. The planning meetings were well attended the last couple of years and we would like to continue to benefit from your contributions.

The planning sessions will be held on the following dates:
Thursday, September 30th, 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., location TBD
Thursday, October 28th, 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., location TBD

Please contact: Marcella.X.delaTorre@HealthPartners.com directly if you are able to join the planning committee.

Kudos!

2010-08-20T10:59:00.001-05:00

Congratulations to Dr. Kara Kim, one of two recipients of the first annual ACEP Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Section Resident Quality Award! We look forward to Dr. Kim's continued involvement in quality and patient safety in the future. She is a budding young star in medical quality management. Dr. Kim is one of Regions Hosptial's Emergency Medicine Chief residents this year.

SAVE THE DATE: Wednesday, August 18, 2010

2010-08-10T10:42:00.001-05:00

Residents, Fellows, Medical Students, Program Directors and Coordinators - YOU ARE INVITED!

ATTENTION ALL RESIDENT ALUMNI

2010-08-05T08:27:00.004-05:00

Important Information Re:
Medical Resident FICA Refund Claims

If you were a Regions Hospital/IME resident during the years 1997-2005, you may be eligible for a refund of the FICA you paid during that period of time. For more information and to receive an important letter and accompanying employee consent claim form, call 651-254-1496 and leave your name, home address, telephone number and email address and a letter and form will be sent to you. Be sure to return the employee consent claim form no later than the date specified in the letter.

Transfusion Best Practice Alert Announcement, Effective 7.28.10

2010-07-07T13:15:00.000-05:00

On July 28, 2010 a new best practice alert will be implemented to ensure appropriate use of donated red blood cells. Regions Hospital transfusion guidelines were developed by the hospital Transfusion Committee and approved by the Patient Care Committee. When a red blood cell transfusion is being ordered, Epic will examine the prior hemoglobin result. If the hemoglobin value does not meet best practice guidelines, the following message will appear.

This change is in accordance with best practice as exemplified by this seminal article: N Engl J Med. 1999 Feb 11;340(6):409-17. This alert will be presented to all persons placing the order, regardless of location, role, or admission status. It will appear once per 24 hours on any patient. This BPA has been approved by the Patient Care Committee of Regions Hospital. Please direct questions to Dr. Subramanian, Director of Pathology Informatics 651-254-9628 amar.t.subramanian@healthpartners.com

2010 New Resident Orientation

2010-06-17T21:38:00.000-05:00

REGIONS HOSPITAL NEW RESIDENT ORIENTATION

Thursday, June 24, 2010,

North Woods Conference Rooms - 2018 A&B North

Breakfast & Lunch will be provided by:

Scrubs Reminder

2010-06-17T17:05:00.000-05:00

SCRUB POLICY # RH-SP-RM 01:11

Surgical attire is worn to promote high level cleanliness and hygiene within the surgical environment and to provide a barrier to contamination that may pass from personnel to patients, patients to personnel, as well as from personnel to sterile instruments. Additional protective barriers are worn in order to prevent exposure to blood or body fluid contamination during the reprocessing of instruments and equipment. Scrub suits are appropriate for designated areas (e.g. OR and L&D). In all other areas, a long white coat must be worn over the scrub suit.

• Hospital provided scrubs are to be worn inside the hospital only.

• Scrubs are not to be worn outside for breaks or smoking

• Scrubs are not to be worn while traveling between hospitals

• Scrubs are not to be worn home; or to and from work

• Before leaving the hospital, staff should change into street clothes and deposit used scrubs in the laundry hamper

(This information can also be found in the 2009-2010 Graduate Medical Education Resident Handbook)